The invention relates in general to the field of microfluidic devices and methods of functionalization and configuration of such devices.
Microfluidics deals with the precise control and manipulation of small volumes of fluids that are typically constrained to micro scale channels and to volumes typically in the millimeter range. Prominent features of microfluidics originate from the peculiar behavior that liquids exhibit at the micro scale. Flow of liquids in microfluidics is typically laminar. Volumes well below one nanoliter can be reached by fabricating structures with lateral dimensions in the micrometer range. Microfluidic devices generally refer to microfabricated devices, which are used for pumping, sampling, mixing, analyzing and dosing liquids.
Many microfluidic devices have user chip interfaces and closed flow paths. Closed flow paths facilitate the integration of functional elements (e.g., heaters, mixers, pumps, UV detector, valves, etc.) into one device while minimizing problems related to leaks and evaporation. The analysis of liquid samples often requires a series of steps (e.g., filtration, dissolution of reagents, heating, washing, reading of signal, etc.).
In general, microfluidic devices are designed in view of a restricted set of applications, typically one application only. Thus, new designs of microfluidic devices are typically needed for each new application, which impacts the costs of the devices.